[TowerTalk] #2 solid or stranded for tower leg grounds

[Gene Smar]

John:

     Most of us here on TT recommend your using solid rather than stranded #2.  This will eliminate corrosion from between strands, maintaining the electrical properties of the grounding wire.

     As for connecting to the tower, you might consider connecting to the flat steel elements at the base of the tower using these model 213 clamps from Harger:  http://www.harger.com/products/grdcmp/mech/bc/bc.cfm .  I use them to connect my shunt-feed wires and my coax shield ground wires to the flat elements of my Trylon tower.  I also use their model 222T clamps http://www.harger.com/products/lpcmp/blp/bl/BL/bl.cfm to connect my ground wires to pre-drilled holes in the Trylon's legs.

    A final word of advice:  You ought to connect your ground wires higher up along the tower than right atop the concrete base.  This right-angle turn in the grounding path represents a greater inductance to lightning energy than a gentle curve you get from connecting up higher along the tower legs.  You can protect this piece of ground wire with a piece of garden hose that extends a few inches into the dirt and above the top of the concrete base.

73 de
Gene Smar  AD3F


 From: John Elsik <wa5zup at msn.com>
Date: 2007/09/13 Thu AM 09:29:00 CDT
To: towertalk at contesting.com
Subject: [TowerTalk] #2 solid or stranded for tower leg grounds

I acquired 250' of #2 bare copper and 15 ground rods left over from a job at work.  So that is a start on what I am using for my ground system for a new LM-354HD  crank up tower installation.  Base is installed, waiting for the concrete to cure.  Tower is not here yet.
I have to get more wire and rods.  I have most of the exothermic one-shots, but of course, need more of them too.  I am pretty much committed to using #2 for everything.
The plan is to just pigtail up the #2, for now, to each tower leg.
I have a choice of either #2 tinned solid copper or #2 stranded for these pigtails.  The one-shots should work with either one by spec. At the moment, I am not sure how I will attach the fat #2 to the tower legs.  I was thinking of using stranded for that because it would be somewhat more flexible.
Is that a good idea, or should I just stay with the solid?
John wa5zup
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